The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) Research Workshop (RW) has been a highly successful and scientifically respected conference that brings together nutrition researchers and clinicians committed to the development of evidence-based clinical practices ensuring cutting-edge patient care. The goal of the A.S.P.E.N. 2015 RW Taste Signaling: Impact on Food Selection, Intake, and Health is to disseminate new findings related to the interactios between the taste properties of food and need-state, postingestive events, and food consumption behaviors, and the implications of these interactions on nutrition and health throughout the lifespan. The influence of early life experiences on taste-related behavior, as well as the impact of gastric bypass surgery on gut peptides, taste preferences, an food selection will also be explored. The A.S.P.E.N. 2015 RW is both timely and novel: i will provide a powerful venue for inter-disciplinary collaboration among early career an established clinicians and researchers from basic to applied settings who share interest in the interactions between taste signaling and food selection, intake, and health. This RW is particularly aligned with NIDDK's scientific program on Signaling and Nutrient Sensing with has significant implications for the prevention and management of obesity. It is also topic of key relevance to A.S.P.E.N. researchers and clinicians because of the potentia impact that a better understanding of these interactions might have on clinical care ad outcomes in individuals at risk for or who are diagnosed with obesity. The aims of the 2015 A.S.P.E.N. RW program are: 1) to attract a diverse group of scientists, speakers and attendees with common interest in mechanisms by which signaling by taste receptors throughout the GI tract can influence food intake and nutrient metabolism, physiology, and health throughout the lifespan, thus bridging clinical nutrition and metabolic research from bench to bed-side; 2) to support translational science by fostering communication and collaboration among interdisciplinary researchers (from basic scientists to clinical trialists) with clinicians who can apply their findings to improve the care of individuals who are at risk for or are diagnosed with obesity; 3) to provide opportunities for mentorship of early career researchers interested in working at the interface of taste signaling biology and clinial nutrition in health and disease; 4) to promote development, in both clinical and basic science settings, of grant applications with the aim of testing novel treatments for obesity; 5) to disseminate the 2015 RW activities and information to the broader scientific community. The 2015 RW on the interactions between taste signaling and food selection, intake and health is poised to be highly successful in achieving the specific aims outlined in this application by building on the foundation of prior workshops and providing the multidisciplinary venue that is critical for advancing the science of nutrition support and patient care.